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Nu. 608,3l4. Patented Aug. 2, |898. E. E. ATKlNsoN.

DEVICE FOR BISING OIR LOWEBING VEHICLE CURTAINS.

(Application led Nov. 26, 1897.)

No Mdel.)

TH; bams Eriks co, Puorourno., wAsnmoToN. u. c.

- ner of fastening the curtains when lowered.'

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDW'ARD E. ATKINSON, OF ADA, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO HARVEY W.SHAW, OF SAME PLACE.

DEVICE FOR RAISING OR LOW-ERING VEHICLE-CURTAINS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 608,314, dated August2,' 1898;

Application tied November 26, V1897. senti No. 659,841. (No modem To allwhom, t may con/067%:

Be it known that I, EDWARD E. ATKINSON,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Ada, in the county of Hardinand State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Device for Raising orLowering Vehicle-Curtains, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in devices for raising andlowering vehicle-curtains. Y

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction forraising and lowering side and back curtains of vehicles and to enablethe same to be simultaneously raised and lowered by the driver of avehicle without necessitating his leaving his seat at the y front of thelatter.

The invention consistsin the construction and novelA combination andarrangement of.

parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a vehicle-top providedwith a device for raising and lowering curtains constructed inaccordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional View online 2 2 of Fig. 1, the top of the vehicle being shown in reverse planView. Fig. 3 is a det-ail sectional View on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4is a detail horizontal sectional view illustrating the man- Fig. 5 is adetail view illustrating the arrangement of the rods for supporting theside curtains. p

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the severalligures of the drawings.

1 1 and 2 2 designate Vertical posts located' `casing 14C. The braeketorcasing 14 is secured to the frame of the top 3,`near one side thereof,and the operating-cords depend from them, so as to be within easy reachof the driver and in convenient position for attachment to the adjacentfront post, whereby the curtains are maintained in their raisedposition.

The rear posts 2 are connected at their upper ends by a horizontal rod15, which is spaced from the frame 4, forming a guideopening andsupporting the rear curtain 16, mounted upon a transverse roller 17. The

transverse roller 17, which is journaled in suitable bearing-brackets1S, is provided at one end with a pulley or drum 19, around which iswound one end of an operating-cord 20, which extends longitudinally ofthe vehicle-top to a front guide-pulley 21, located at the front end ofthe adjacent longitudinal curtain-roller. The operating-cord 20 dependsfrom the top of the frame adjacent to the depending portions of theoperating-cords 11 and12, and all three may be attached to a ring 22,adapted to engagea projection or stud to maintain the curtains in theirraised position.

The horizontal rods which support the curtains may be constructed of acontinuous piece of metal and extend around the sides and back of theframe 4.

The curtains are secured to the posts when IOO arms enables the curtainsto slide freely on the posts without becoming caught on the fasteningdevices.

The curtains are provided at their lower edges with rods of suflicientweight to cause them to unroll and descend as soon as theoperating-cords are released.

The invention has the following advantages: The device for raising andlowering side and back curtains maybe readily applied to any ordinaryvehicle having a canopy top, and it will permit the back and sidecurtains to be manipulated by a driver without necessitating hisleaving` his seat. The curtains are guided at the top, and thefasteningdevices for buttoning them at the bottom are so arranged thatthey will not interfere with the raising and lowering of the curtains.The spaces at the sides and back of the vehicle between the adjacentedges of the curtains are covered by stationary strips of oil-clothsecured to and supported by the adjacent vertical posts.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any ofthe advantages of this invention.

That I claim isl. In a device of the class described, the combination ofa vehicle-top provided with side bars,horizontal rods located beneathand spaced from the side bars of the top to form guide-openings andhaving their front ends bent upward and secured to the said side bars,posts secured to the horizontal rods, curtains passing through theguide-openings and supported by the horizontal rods, and rollers mountedin hangers or brackets carried by the vehicle-top, substantially asdescribed.

f2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a vehicle-tophaving side bars, posts supporting the vehicle-top, horizontal rodslocated beneath and spaced from the side bars ofthe vehicle-top to formguide-openings, the side curtains passing through the guideopenings andprovided with longitudinal rollers located at the inner sides of thesaid rods, drums mounted on the front ends of the rollers, a pair oiguide-pulleys i3 arranged at the front of the vehicle-top and locatedbetween the said drums, and transverse operatingcords wound around thedrums and passing over and between the guide-pulleys, substantially asdescribed.

In a device of the class described, the combination of a vehicle-topprovided at oppositc sides with guide-openings, curtains passing throughthe guide-openings and provided with longitudinal rollers and arrangedat the front ends thereof, a pair of guide-pulleys located between thedrums, and transverse operating cords wound around the drums and passingover and between the guide-pulleys, substantially as specified.

l. In a device of the class described, the combination of a vehicle-top,posts supporting the same, horizontal rods spaced from the vehicle-topand arranged at the front and back of the same to form guide-openings,side eurtains passing through the said guide-openings and havinglongitudinal rollers, a back curtain passing through the rearguide-opening an d having a transverse rollcr,a pair of guidepulleys i3arranged between the front ends ofthe longitudinal rollers, transverseoperating-cords connected with the longitudinal rollers and passing overand between the guide-pulleys, a guide-pulley li) arranged at the frontofthe vehicle-top,and a longitudinal operating-cord passing over theguide-pulley l0 and connected with the transverse roller oi' the rearcurtain, substantially as described.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a post orsupport, a verticallymovable curtain provided with an eyclet or opening,and a substantiallyv L-shaped horizontal arm permanently mounted on thepost or support and arranged out of the path of the curtain, said armbeing provided with a head adapted to engage the eyelet or opening ofthe curtain, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixedniy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD E. ATKINSON. lVitnesses:

FRANK L. HUMAN, lnNJAM IN Rn'rnnni n.

